Egypt

total:

68.3 cu km/yr (8%/6%/86%)

per capita:

923 cu m/yr (2000)

• periodic droughts;
• frequent earthquakes;
• flash floods;
• landslides;
• hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring;
• dust storms;
• sandstorms

• agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands;
• increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam;
• desertification;
• oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats;
• other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents;
• limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source;
• rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere;
• controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea;
• size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics;
• dependence on upstream neighbors;
• dominance of Nile basin issues;
• prone to influxes of refugees

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.83 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

Rift Valley fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

noun:

Egyptian(s)

adjective:

Egyptian

conventional long form:

Arab Republic of Egypt

conventional short form:

Egypt

local long form:

Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah

local short form:

Misr

former:

United Arab Republic (with Syria)

name:

Cairo

geographic coordinates:

30 03 N, 31 15 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Friday in April; ends first Friday in August

• 28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the revolution that began 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn 18 June 1956);
• note - it was in ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically

• based on Islamic and civil law (particularly Napoleonic codes);
• judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions);
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

chief of state:

President Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK (since 14 October 1981)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ahmed Mohamed NAZIF (since 9 July 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (no term limits);
• note - a national referendum in May 2005 approved a constitutional amendment that changed the presidential election to a multicandidate popular vote;
• previously the president was nominated by the People's Assembly and the nomination was validated by a national, popular referendum;
• last referendum held on 26 September 1999;
• first election under terms of the constitutional amendment held on 7 September 2005 (next scheduled for 2011)

election results:

Hosni MUBARAK reelected president; percent of vote - Hosni MUBARAK 88.6%, Ayman NOUR 7.6%, Noman GOMAA 2.9%

• Al-Geel;
• Democratic Peace Party;
• Nasserist Party [Ahmed HASSAN];
• National Democratic Party or NDP (governing party) [Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK];
• National Progressive Unionist Grouping or Tagammu [Rifaat EL-SAID];
• New Wafd Party or NWP [Sayed EL-BEDAWY];
• Social Justice Party [Mohamed Abdel Al HASAN];
• Tomorrow Party [Ayman NOURI]

note: formation of political parties must be approved by the government; only parties with representation in elected bodies are listed

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sameh Hassan SHOUKRY

chancery:

3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 895-5400

FAX:

[1] (202) 244-4319

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Margaret SCOBEY

embassy:

8 Kamal El Din Salah St., Garden City, Cairo

mailing address:

Unit 64900, Box 15, APO AE 09839-4900; 5 Tawfik Diab Street, Garden City, Cairo

telephone:

[20] (2) 2797-3300

FAX:

[20] (2) 2797-3200

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black;
• the national emblem (a gold Eagle of Saladin facing the hoist side with a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band;
• the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white)

note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band

agriculture:

32%

industry:

17%

services:

51% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.9%

highest 10%:

27.6% (2005)

general assessment:

• underwent extensive upgrading during 1990s;
• principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay

domestic:

largest fixed-line system in the region; as of 2010 there were three mobile-cellular networks with a total of more than 55 million subscribers

international:

• country code - 20;
• landing point for Aletar, the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks, Link Around the Globe (FLAG) Falcon and FLAG FEA;
• satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat);
• tropospheric scatter to Sudan;
• microwave radio relay to Israel;
• a participant in Medarabtel (2009)

• mix of state-run and private broadcast media;
• state-run TV operates 2 national and 6 regional terrestrial networks as well as a few satellite channels;
• about 20 private satellite channels and a large number of Arabic satellite channels are available via subscription;
• state-run radio operates about 70 stations belonging to 8 networks;
• 2 privately-owned radio stations operational (2008)

• condensate 320 km;
• condensate/gas 13 km;
• gas 6,262 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 956 km;
• oil 4,319 km;
• oil/gas/water 3 km;
• refined products 895 km;
• unknown 59 km (2009)

total:

5,500 km

country comparison to the world: 33

standard gauge:

5,500 km 1.435-m gauge (62 km electrified) (2009)

total:

65,050 km

country comparison to the world: 71

paved:

47,500 km

unpaved:

17,550 km (2009)

males age 16-49:

20,619,887

females age 16-49:

19,785,004 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

17,733,851

females age 16-49:

16,942,010 (2010 est.)

male:

799,377

female:

764,602 (2010 est.)

• Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary;
• Egypt no longer shows its administration of the Bir Tawil trapezoid in Sudan on its maps;
• Gazan breaches in the security wall with Egypt in January 2008 highlight difficulties in monitoring the Sinai border;
• Saudi Arabia claims Egyptian-administered islands of Tiran and Sanafir

refugees (country of origin):

• 60,000 - 80,000 (Iraq);
• 70,198 (Palestinian Territories);
• 12,157 (Sudan) (2007)

• transit point for cannabis, heroin, and opium moving to Europe, Israel, and North Africa;
• transit stop for Nigerian drug couriers;
• concern as money laundering site due to lax enforcement of financial regulations